Dr Gemma McKenna

Health Services Management Centre
Assistant Professor
Advisor at the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS)

Contact details

Email: g.r.mckenna@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @dr_mckenna

Address: School of Social Policy and Society
HSMC, Park House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2RT, United Kingdom

Tweets by @dr_mckenna

Qualifications

Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, University of Birmingham 2024
PhD in Homelessness Social Enterprises, Middlesex University 2013
Post Graduate Certificate: Social Science Research Methods, Middlesex University 2011
MA in International Development and Social Policy, University of Manchester 2009
BA (Hons) in International Business Studies, University of Portsmouth 2004

Biography

Gemma has extensive experience of working in the third and public sectors, focusing on housing, homelessness and public health. With a background in critical and comparative approaches to social policy, she specialises in NHS urgent and emergency care, and primary care, with a focus on methods to support research with vulnerable groups. Gemma has also been a board member of Health Services Research UK since 2017 https://hsruk.org/.

Prior to her recent academic posts at the University of Southampton, Gemma held research and policy positions in UK Parliament, Think Tanks, and European lobby organisations respectively. Working in research roles for Government and Shadow Ministers, as well as previous work with vulnerable groups, she uses these institutional and front-line experiences to identify practical policy-based solutions to public policy issues.

Gemma is passionate about ensuring peoples’ voices are heard and included in research design, outputs and policy development. She is a keen advocate of ‘citizens panels’, which she has used in NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) funded programmes to ensure public and patient voices are central to research projects and outputs.

Postgraduate supervision

Supervision interests include;

Youth mental health policy and practice
School-based mental health and wellbeing
Personal experiences of health/mental health and illness
Access to urgent and emergency care, particularly for vulnerable groups
Co-design and public involvement in service delivery, using qualitative approaches (citizen panels and creative design)
Health policy and innovative health system changes, working with NHS workforce and patients
Patient decision makings aids, especially projects using qualitative methods

Other activities

Health Services Research UK (HRSUK), Board Member (Lead for Careers and Professional Development).

TONIBOBANDLOU CIC Board Advisor Social enterprise focused on innovation in patient centred healthcare.

Publications

McKenna, G. (2023). Building inclusive learning environments for postgraduate students with specific learning difficulties (SpLDs) across higher education: a case study approach. Education in Practice. 4(2). University of Birmingham: Complete journal interior @15.12.23-clean_headingsMH +SL clean.pdf (birmingham.ac.uk).

Sidhu, M, Saunders, C. L. Davies, McKenna, G, Wu, F. Litchfield, I. Olumogba, F. Sussex, J. (2023). Vertical integration of general practices with acute hospitals in England: rapid impact evaluation. Health and Social Care Delivery Research, (11(17):1-114. DOI:10.3310/PRWQ4012

Ellins, J, Hocking, L, Al-Haboubi, M, Newbould, J, Fenton, S-J, Daniel, K, Stockwell, S, Leach, B, Sidhu, M, Bousfield, J, McKenna, G, Saunders, K, O'Neil, S & Mays, N. (2023). Early evaluation of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Trailblazer programme: a rapid mixed-methods study. Health Technology Assessment, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 1-137. https://doi.org/10.3310/XQWU4117

Ellins, J, Hocking, L, Al-Haboubi, M, Newbould, J, Fenton, S-J, Daniel, K, Stockwell, S, Leach, B, Sidhu, M, Bousfield, J, McKenna, G, Saunders, K, O'Neill, S & Mays, N. (2023). Implementing mental health support teams in schools and colleges: the perspectives of programme implementers and service providers. Journal of Mental Health.

McKenna, G. Rogers, A. Walker, S. Pope, C. (2020). The influence of personal communities in understanding avoidable emergency department attendance: qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research (20), 887. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05705-5

Turnbull, J. Pope, C. Prichard, J. McKenna, G. & Rogers, A. (2019). A conceptual model of urgent care sense-making and help-seeking: a qualitative interview study of urgent care users in England. BMC Health Services Research, 19 (481).

Turnbull, J. McKenna, G. Prichard, J. Rogers, A. Crouch, R, Lennon, A. May, C. Pope, C. (2019). Sense-making strategies and help-seeking behaviours associated with urgent care services: a mixed-methods study. National Institute for Health Research, Health Services and Delivery Research No 7. 26.

Pope, C. McKenna, G. Turnbull, J. Prichard, J. & Rogers, A. (2019). Navigating and making sense of urgent and emergency care processes. Health Expectations 22 (3), 435-443.

McKenna, G and Edwards, L. (2016). Giving Social Action a Voice: Reframing Communication as Social Action. Culture and Communities Network + University of Leeds

McKenna, G. (2015). The Feel Happy Fix - 50 Fixes for Mental Health: It's Time You Got It! Fixers UK. http://www.fixers.org.uk/UserFiles/Files/p_yXYaBR.pdf

McKenna, G. (2015). Young People Fixing Eating Disorders: A Cultural Shift is Required. Fixers UK. http://www.fixers.org.uk/feel-happy-fix/feel-happy-eating-fix/what-young-people-think.php

McKenna, G. (2013). Tackling the Labour Market Exclusion of Homeless People: The Role of Social Enterprise. Middlesex, UK. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/12471/

Expertise

Child and adolescents' mental health policy; neurodiversity; vulnerable groups

Media experience

Sunday Politics South
BBC Radio Solent

Alternative contact number available for this expert: contact the press office

Expertise

Gemma McKenna is an Assistant Professor in the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC), and specialises in child and adolescent mental health, public access and usage of urgent and emergency care services, with particular focus on patient centred care and vulnerable groups. She has worked with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Cabinet Office, Department for Education, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the European Commission to advise on the future of health services and small business development. As a chosen Commissioning Partner (through UK charity Fixers) for Government Task Force on Adolescent Mental Health her contributions include evidence for ‘Future in Mind’ Department of Health Guidance on the future of young people’s mental health and with The British Youth Council around young people’s mental health organised by the House of Commons Youth Select Committee. As well as for the Education Committee on the future of careers guidance for young people. Her work with young people with eating disorders has contributed to Parliamentary questions and informed debates around the improvement of community based services to support young people earlier and reduce the need for in-patient care. More recently, her work at HSMC on the Trailblazers Evaluation has helped to contribute to a parliamentary question about children and young people’s mental health, and House of Lords enquiry into the transition from education to work for disabled young people.

Policy experience

Parliamentary briefing paper: Access to mental health support for schools and colleges for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health concerns. McKenna, Ellins and Mays (2024).

Published evidence: House of Lords Public Services Committee: Think Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people.

Written evidence submitted to the House of Lords Public Services Committee's inquiry: The transition from education to employment for young disabled people

Written evidence provided to Labour Party Policy Forum on ‘Making Public Services Work’ using Children and Young People's Mental Health: Trailblazer programme evaluation.